Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 486

5

For shorter trips, you're better off
sacrificing comfort and price for speed by
buying a ticket on a buseta , colectivo or any
similarly sized minibus or minivan that
departs when full. If you don't want to be
waiting around for ages, don't hand over
your luggage or pay unless you can see that
a bus is nearly full and ready to depart.
In the coffee-growing areas in particular,
the most common mode of transport is
the hardy Willy jeeps , with two rows of
seats in the covered interior and more
passengers clinging to the back. These
tend to be inexpensive, but the ride can
be bumpy and you are squeezed in with
mounds of luggage.

and stacks of DVDs are common, and
hostels are often the best places to find out
about local attractions; some rent bicycles
and even horses. Guesthouses rarely cost
more than COP$70,000 for a double
room with private bathroom.
Camping is an option in some rural
areas and national parks, particularly
Parque Nacional Tayrona on the
Caribbean coast and Parque Nacional
Cocuy in the highlands. Be aware that
many campsites don't rent tents (or rent
substandard ones), so it's best to bring
your own if you plan to camp regularly.
If you hike to the Ciudad Perdida (see
p.529) you'll get to sleep in hammocks
with mosquito nets.
In the coffee-growing region, you
can stay on one of the stately fincas ,
coffee-growing plantations that have
barely changed over the decades. Though
these farms range from tiny to sleek,
modernized operations, the majority are
small estates that offer comfortable
accommodation for a moderate price
(COP$25,000-45,000 per room). Meals
prepared from locally grown food as well
as numerous outdoor activities, like farm
tours and horseriding, are often included
or available.

BY PLANE
There are more than half a dozen
domestic airlines. Avianca ( W avianca
.com) serves the greatest number of
domestic destinations. Copa ( W copaair
.com), the second-largest airline, covers
largely the same destinations and flies to
San Andres. Satena ( W satena.com) offers
flights to the Amazon, the Pacific coast
and between San Andrés and Providencia.
Budget carrier EasyFly ( W easyly.com.co)
serves Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cartagena,
Cúcuta, Medellín and Santa Marta; Lan
( W lan.com) flies to all the major cities as
well as smaller regional destinations, while
new VivaColombia ( W vivacolombia.co) is
the only one to connect Medellín directly
to Santa Marta.
Booking in advance doesn't necessarily
guarantee a low fare (except during
Semana Santa). A one-way fare between
Santa Marta and Bogotá purchased a day
- or a month - in advance costs about
COP$120,000-155,000 (in high season).

FOOD AND DRINK
Whether it's a platter full of starch or a
suckling pig stuffed with rice, Colombian
food is anything but light. Breakfast
usually consists of huevos pericos ,
scrambled eggs with onion and tomatoes,
accompanied by a fried maize pancake
( arepa ) stuffed with chopped pork, rice,
potatoes and more. The midday almuerzo
or comida corriente consists of soup, a
main course and dessert. Dinners, after
6pm, also tend to involve meat or fish.
In Bogotá and other major cities there
is an excellent array of Western and
international cuisine.

ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation ranges considerably, but
given the country's relative prosperity you'll
be pleasantly surprised at the bargains
available. Backpacker hostels are prolific,
particularly in larger cities such as Bogotá,
Medellín, Cali and Santa Marta, and prices
start at around COP$19,000 for dorms
and COP$43,000 for double rooms.
Comfortable beds, shared kitchens, free
wi-fi, book exchanges, laundry, cable TV

LOCAL SPECIALITIES
Each region in Colombia has its own
local speciality. The national dish is the
bandeja paisa - an enormous platter of
ground beef, chorizo, beans ( frijoles ),
rice, fried banana ( plátano ), a fried egg,